Sophomore Michael McCarthy advanced to the main singles draw with a pair of Friday victories in the qualifying bracket.

Oct. 21, 2005

ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Sophomore Michael McCarthy and a pair of doubles teams advanced at the Wilson/Intercollegiate Tennis Association Midwest Regional Championships on Friday. McCarthy picked up a pair of victories in the qualifying bracket and is the fifth Hoosier to move into the main singles draw. The duo of seniors Neil Kenner and Dmytro Ishtuganov along with the tandem of freshman Peter Antons and junior David Bubenicek advanced to the second round of the main doubles draw.

McCarthy, the 11th seed in the qualifying bracket, knocked off the No. 7 seed Lachezar Kasarov of Wisconsin, 6-0, 6-3, to advance to the main draw. The Cincinnati native opened the day with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Brandon Davis of Illinois. With the victories, he upped his mark to 5-2 on the season.

The 12th-seeded Hoosier team of Kenner and Ishtuganov moved on to the next round of doubles with a hotly-contested victory. The tandem defeated Paul Glendenning and Andy Lockhart of Illinois-Chicago in a tiebreaker, 9-8 (4). The tandem will meet Nic Edlefsen and Sion Wilkins of Minnesota in the second round.

The IU duo of freshman Peter Antons and junior David Bubenicek defeated the No. 15 seed D.J. Geatz and Andres Osario of Minnesota. Antons and Bubenicek notched their first victory as a team, 8-5. They will meet the Chicago team of Prabojo and Prakoso Imanuel in the second round.

The lone Hoosier casualty of the day was the sophomore team of Dara McLoughlin and McCarthy. The pair dropped a difficult 8-3 match to the in the fifth-seeded Ohio State team of Bryan Koniecko and Ross Wilson.

The main singles draw begins on Saturday, Oct. 22. Kenner will open with the 12th-seeded Brett Helgeson of Notre Dame. Helgeson is ranked 108th in the country according to the ITA preseason rankings. Ishtuganov will challenge third-seeded Matko Maravic of Michigan, who also is ranked 42nd nationally in the preseason rankings. McLoughlin drew the 15th seed Marc Spicijaric of Illinois, and Bubenicek will face Jose Orozco of Western Michigan, who is the No. 8 seed. Spicijaric is ranked 115th in the nation in the preseason ITA poll. McCarthy, as one of eight qualifiers, will meet the 16th seed Christian Tempke of Northwestern in the first round.